It's Not About You

How many times have I said that? "It's not about you." Probably more to myself than to anyone else. But I've shared that tidbit with friends as well. We know in our rational minds that it's not about "me." I am not the center of the universe. I am not God. Everything does not revolve around me, my desires, my preferences, my comfort, my wishes. We get that. But ... we don't. There are theists who are practical atheists. They gladly profess their belief in God and then live as if He doesn't exist. Most of us are practical "meists." We admit that it's not just about us, but we still live and think like it is.

It is insidious. It sneaks in everywhere. The parent who loves his children and punishes them for failing to show him proper respect, not because learning to show proper respect is important to their well-being, but because "I will be respected!" The wife who is kind and considerate to her husband, not to be kind and considerate to her husband, but in order to get him to be kind and considerate to her. Our entire free-world economy is built on the "me" mentality. Capitalism has market forces that regulate our economy on the basis of "what will work best for me." At a company I worked for we were required to attend a leadership seminar. In the seminar, the teacher did an exercise in which we all ran our own little companies. He demonstrated that if we surrendered some control and worked together, we could all get richer, but when the exercise was run, they wouldn't because "it's all about me," not us.

While it is manifestly obvious that we as individuals are not the center of the universe, suggesting specifics on this basis is generally met with disbelief, even outrage, even from Christians. Our values, our perceptions of our own importance, our wishes, our needs are all built on this anthropocentric (man-centered) theory. I deserve love, power, wealth, health, attention, significance ... the list goes on. The ridiculous principles of "humble yourself like Christ" (Php 2:3-8), of selfless love, of dying to self, and other biblical concepts are so foreign as to be offensive. That voice in the back of our heads -- "I will be like the Most High" -- is much more familiar.

So I suppose this won't come across well. I doubt this will be warmly received. "It's not about you" is true -- it is, in fact, all about God -- but we -- humans in general and even Christians in particular -- will struggle against it to varying degrees in this life. How much you struggle against it is determined by how central God is to your life. Because, after all, you can't serve two masters ...